Aug. 3 (Bloomberg) — Chalk three up for bondholders’ rights.
GUS Plc is losing the battle to split itself in two without compensating the holders of its 350 million pounds ($658 million) of notes repayable in 2013.
The trustee for bonds, a unit of HSBC Holdings Plc on the British island of Jersey, said this week that GUS’s plan to divorce its Experian credit-information business from its Argos retailing unit constitutes an event of default. The trustee cited “the advice of senior counsel” in a statement.
It’s the third victory for bondholders. In June, they rejected GUS’s proposal to change the terms of the bond. The company said then that “we now regard this matter as closed.” On July 31, the company had a change of heart, and offered to repay the bonds at their face value to achieve “finality.” Its lenders don’t seem inclined to play along.
